Emanuel Ax in Chicago

Nami had two tickets to a piano recital. She was originally going with a friend but somehow instead I ended up being invited. Sat at our seats at the Chicago Symphony Center. Good location. My seat felt a bit broken but OK. Looked at the program and said “wow, Emanuel Ax.” Unbeknown to me I was going to see and hear Mr. Ax. I was delighted.

Our seats were good. I had great views of his hands. If I were a pianist like him, I would think twice before shaking the hands of some people I meet. Do they ever worry someone may hurt their hands with a too firm handshake? The performance was great. I read he will have performances with Yo Yo Ma and Dawn Upshaw. Those performances would be great to see. Sound wise, frankly I was just not impressed. In fact, I hoped that my music equipment sound better than a bad sound at this hall (at least where I was sitting).